Thank you Joy!! This looks like a great recipe for busy women!! (that means all of us!!!) No need to complete it all in one shot….. mix and let rise…. cover and let rise….

“Hi Marlene,

I thought the readers of The Jewish Hostess might enjoy this No Knead Bread Recipe from The Sullivan Street Bakery. Since I have discovered this recipe I have made it many times with different variations, wholewheat, semolina, olives, & roasted garlic with rosemary. It is delicious rustic bread crusty on the outside and chewy and soft with tunnels on the inside…..so easy my 12 year old grandson made it! The trick is to let the dough rest for 12-18 hours….the longer it rests the more complex the flavors get…Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery developed this formula: “- Joy Betesh

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.

For the whole wheat version, I substituted 2 cups of whole wheat flour for the white flour

For the semolina, I substituted 1 cup of semolina flour (smead) for 1 cup of white flour

For the olive bread, I added 1/2 cup pitted & chopped Alphonso or kalamata olives to the dough mixture just before I let it rise in the towel.

For the garlic & rosemary bread, I sauteed 4 garlic cloves cut in slivers in a teaspoon of olive oil and then mixed the garlic pieces (without the oil) with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and added to the dough mixture just before it rises in the towel

Mark Bittman, of the NY Times has a You Tube video on making this bread.

This is the simplest dish but gets the most amazing results. Whenever I make these, the platter cannot leave the kitchen before it needs refilling. This is also a great afternoon snack that keeps the family from munching on sugary sweets before a late dinner.

This is of course a great kosher and vegan recipe for the bigSuper Bowl event this Sunday February 6!

Plantains have many health benefits that you may not know. Read on:

A well-acclaimed diuretic, plantain is found to be extremely effective against kidney ,bladder and intestine problems.

It is effective against heavy menstrual cycles.

Plantain is also used as a vulnerary to treat cuts and wounds. Due to easy accessibility of this wonderful fruit, it can be easily bought and crushed and applied to cuts and wounds for quick relief. Also, since plantain has a high epidermal growth, it can be used to fix damaged tissues, treat bruises and broken bones.

Plantain is touted as a wonderful blood cleanser.

Plantain, much like its yellow ripe counterpart, is extremely good for skin. Plantain juice can be effectively used to treat sunburn, ulcers, scalds and burns. It is treated as an effective substitute for aloe vera.

It is very effective for treating liver sluggishness and inflammation of the digestive tract.

Chewing plantain root can offer immediate relief from toothache.

Plantain is known to soothe cough reflex andis used to treat asthma, lung infections, and hay fever and any other respiratory disorders that involves mucous congestion.

How to know when a plantain is ready to cook:

Buy plantains as green as possible and allow them to ripen at home near a window.During the winter that can extend to three weeks! If you want a plantain chip that is not too sweet, (ie. for a guacamole dip) then only allow it to turn yellow. But, if you want a sweeter treat then allow plantains to turn black (the skin will go from green to golden yellow to black). Once they are that ripe, you will know they are super sweet inside.

Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner! As a party planner I would generally be talking about table settings with a twist football.. or some fabulous take on Super Bowl. But let’s be honest ladies, our boyfriends, husbands, brothers, etc.., aren’t about to gather ’round the table and have a civilized meal on super bowl Sunday. You’re more likely to find them slightly possessed and consumed with their flat screens. With that being said, I think Super Bowl Sunday calls for good times, informality, and best of all- comfort food.

Which brings me to this…

I hope you all enjoy this chili recipe. It’s one of my husbands favorite dishes and pairs best with rice, pasta, tortilla chips, hamburger buns, or eat it as is!

What you will need for this Kosher Recipe

2 lb. Ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

3 – 8 Ounce cans of Hunts Tomato Sauce

1 – 8 Ounce Jar of Salsa

2 Cans Dark Red Kidney Beans

4 Tablespoons Chili Seasoning Mix

1/4 Cup Beer

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic powder

Directions for this Kosher Recipe

1. Saute the onion with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium / high heat in a large pot until translucent, or for 5 minutes.

2. Add the meat until browned

3. Add All of the remaining ingredients, mix, and lower heat to a simmer.

Salsa means “sauce” in Spanish and it is usually a condiment made from tomatoes, onion,garlic, cilantro, salt and hot peppers, with a touch of vinegar or lemon juice for acidity. The mixture is usually chopped and served fresh with tortilla chips.

Salsa has tons of vitamin C, plus, it is low in carbohydrates, fat and cholesterol. On average, a serving of salsa has about 15 calories — certainly better than your average mayonaisse based dip.

Add it to your menu for next Sunday February 6, 2011 for all the football fans that will gather by

the screen!!!

Serve with chicken or fish any night of the week,or as a healthy snack if your kids and their friends come over to hang out.

Check out the video above from EHOW.com. The tomatoes are cooked, and corn and cumin are added. Obviously, salsa has a lot of variations so you can go with the flow, experiment, and let us know which version your family like best!

Superbowl Salsa

Kosher Recipe Ingredients

6 flour tortillas cut into triangles

spray with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt

bake for 10 minutes at 350.

For the Salsa

1 can black beans rinsed drained and chopped

1 tomato diced

2 scallions

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbs lime juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine all kosher recipe ingredients and serve with fresh tortilllas.

Don’t miss out on Tu B’shvat this year! We traditionally celebrate this day by eating fruits of the seven species from Israel that is praised in the Torah: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, and dates. Ancient Sepharadic Jews originated the idea of a Tu B’shvat seder, where participants enjoy munching on a variety of fruits and nuts, drinking wine, and discussing the day’s spiritual and mystical meanings.

Dates are a great Tu B’shvat ingredient for two reasons: first, they are one of the seven species. Second, they are really delicious – available fresh in season and dried year-round, dates are super sweet and almost candy-like. They are great by themselves or added to a variety of sweet or savory dishes.

Almonds, another one of the “Tu B’shvat seven”, are loaded with calcium and protein. Traditional truffles are made of chocolate and heavy cream – yes, they taste great, but they’re far from healthy. This modern spin on truffles are a rich, sweet, and a wonderfully healthy alternative to their chocolatey counterpart. Encourage your kids to try these healthy treats and remind them of the the Tu B’shvat holiday. I will be serving them for Shabbat dessert this week so that we can get a head start on Tu B’shvat, which begins on Thursday, January 20, 2011. Enjoy! Marlene

Kosher Recipe Ingredients

1 cup pitted dried dates

1 cup chopped almonds

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons honey

Unsweetened cocoa powder and/or ground walnuts to coat (optional)

Directions for making this Kosher Recipe

Grind almond in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until fragrant and slightly darker.

Place the dates, almonds, cocoa powder, and honey in a food processor. Pulse the processor until the mixture comes together to form a ball.

Form cherry-sized balls out of the mixture and roll them in cocoa powder , ground almonds, or coconut to coat. Enjoy them right away or store them in the fridge for later!

Hi, it’s Shirley from Homebaked with a recipe for all those in need of a heartwarming, satisfying treat. Here’s an easy recipe for rich, creamy homemade hot chocolate. You can use any kind of chocolate you desire – bittersweet, semisweet, milk, white… or try mixing a few! Add peppermint extract into white chocolate cocoa for warm, wintery flavors, swirl in a few flakes of sea salt and homemade caramel into milk chocolate for a toffee spin, or a cinnamon stick and some vanilla for a delicious spiced hot cocoa. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, try a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little kick. Top your creation with freshly whipped cream, toasted marshmallows, candy cane, or some more shaved chocolate.

makes one large or two small portions:

1 1/2 cups milk (any fat content you like)

6 heaping tablespoons chocolate chips

Directions for this Kosher Recipe

In a small saucepan, gently heat milk over low heat. Whisk often so the milk doesn’t burn.

While the milk is heating, bring a medium saucepan with two inches of water to a boil. Place a heat-proof bowl with chocolate pieces over the simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water. You’re creating a double boiler. Stir the chocolate pieces until melted.

Add the melted chocolate to the hot milk. Whisk together until completely blended and add your favorite mix-ins. Pour into mugs and top with whatever you fancy.

Directions 1. Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn’t scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

Hot Cocoa Recipe #4:

Hey Marlene, I found this great fluffy hot chocolate recipe online today it came out delicious! Esther Mosseri

makes 2 servings:

2 cups milk

1 tsp and 1 tbsp sugar

2 tsps cocoa powder

3/4 cup mini marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla extract

combine milk, sugar, cocoa and marshmallows in small pot over medium heat for about 8 min until marshmallows melt, stirring, after the marshmallows melt, take it off the fire and add the vanilla. Ladle into mugs, and enjoy!

“For my best friends birthday, I went all out in MY favorite color with my pink placemats, drinking glasses and my rhinestone glitzy bow napkin rings wrapped in not one- but two napkins. I folded both a white and a pink napkin together to get that perfect shape to fit beautifully into my bows. For her special day , I served spaggheti squash baked ziti, a big hearty salad (every girls favorite) , artichoke bottoms, bruchetta, parmesan truffle french fries and last noodles with pesto. A deliciouse meal brings a smile to everyone

“Today I mixed lots of vibrant colors-hot pink salad plates and a scarf that I wore with a gown acts as my runner. I placed large rectangle white plates from Ikea on top of green chargers from Kim Seybert. The placemats are woodcut from Home Depot (I had Home Depot custom cut some woodcut panels for me) and I glued leopard fabric on top to complete the look. The vase is vintage from the 20’s and the napkin rings are from Pier One Imports. I try not to restrict myself to what really goes together. Its more about creating a table that works with my attitude for the day!” Shelly Anteby.

“These cookies are great with coffee. I eat them straight out of the freezer ” -Laura Cohen

Laura sent me this recipe a couple of weeks ago, and since then, I’ve made it at least 4 times, each time with a different twist. You can throw in sesame seeds, slivered almonds, walnuts, even ground flax seeds or chocolate chips.

10 Minute Healthy Fat Free Cinnamon Oat Cookies

3 bananas

1cup chopped dates

1cup oats

quarter cup apple sauce

sprinkle some cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Mix and put on parchment paper make small teaspoonfuls and flatten or make whatever shape u want – it doesn’t change in the oven.

Bake 350 for 20 min on one side,

for crispier cookies, flip onto the other side for another 20 minutes.

My friend Esther Saada sent me these fabulous pictures from her daughter Paulina’s bridal shower. I’m sure that you will enjoy the creativity and detail that went into this sweet and stylish event.- Marlene M.

“Paulina’s bridal shower theme was sparked by a Dress A Bride charity bake-off. Esther Chrem, (Paulina’s sister in law) called Paulina and asked if Paulina would like to come over and help come up with the theme of a cake for Esther to design for the charity. They spoke about what could be a cool, sharp new theme and they came up with “Fashion 2010″. The bake off consisted of 4 teams of bakers. Each designed a beautiful cake, but Esther Chrem won first place!

During the bake-off the attendees had the opportunity to bid on a cake, so of course I bid on the one that Esther baked and I won the bid! The bottom of the cake was a leopard animal print. The second layer was black studded , and the next layer was a red Hermes crocodile bag. The top tier was a black studded Louboutin shoe. In the close up picture you can see that Esther even wrote out the name inside the shoe and also made the red heel just like the original shoe! Surrounding the cake are fashion trends from 2010 such as the fingerless glove and the jeweled bib necklace. The cake was done with edible fondant, edible silver beads and edible rock candy.

To coordinate with the theme of the shower , Esther created mini red Hermes handbag cookies, mini jeweled bib necklaces, and an assortment of shoe cookies. To pick up the red in the cake, I ordered flowers in red, and draped a leopard silk tablecloth topper over the table. I also scattered some pages from Vogue magazine, and photos of designer shoes and placed them around the table.Hope you enjoy these pics as much as I enjoyed hosting the shower!” Esther Saada

This recipe is an interesting variation of the typical hummus. Jewish women are always trying to dream up ways for the family to eat more vegetables. Serve with crudites or whole wheat Pita chips when entertaining, or serve this healthy new side dish with a Shabbat lunch…

Makes 4 cups

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 can (19.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/4 cup tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 garlic clove, chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Whole-wheat pita and crudites such as red pepper and broccoli

Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.

Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil, cumin, and garlic in the food processor. Puree, about 1 minute; thin with water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and let cool; refrigerate, in an airtight container, up to 1 week. Serve with pita and crudites.

This recipe was sent in by Paulina Ashkenazi, our culinary school student, whose family raves about this gourmet savory dish.

By Paulina Ashkenazi

For the marmalade:

2 pounds red onion thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

3 cups red wine

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 table spoons balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons honey

4 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 whole cloves (optional)

1 sprig fresh rosemary finely chopped

In a deep sauté pan combine all the ingredients with 1 cup water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer sturing a few times until liquid has reduced to a syrupy glaze (about 1 hour). Discard cloves.

For the tofu

1 pound extra firm tofu, sliced into 4 slabs

warm a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the tofu to the pan and sprinkle with salt. Cooked until browned on each side(about 3 minutes per side)